Star Crossed
by Shana Heartfilia
Summary: Natsu Dragneel is trained by Gildarts to become an assassin after his parents are murdered eighteen years prior by an organization called Grimoire Heart. Lucy Heartfilia's father is the main financial supporter of the organization, so what happens when Natsu is eventually ordered to assassinate him? Join Natsu as he decides between avenging his family or saving the love of his life


**Hello everyone. I wrote this a while ago, but I forgot to post it. Oops. Okay fair warning, this story will contain violence, that's why it's rated T; however, I don't think it's M worthy, but if you can't handle violence, please don't read ^_^**

**Lucy will be introduced next chapter, so look forward to that! I hope you enjoy!**

Star Crossed

Blood splattered against the pale walls as a heart wrenching scream ripped through the silence of the Dragneel household. Grandine Dragneel lay motionless on the floor as her blood pooled sickeningly around her mangled body. The red liquid dripped menacingly from the jagged blade used to cut her life short. The intruder wiped the weapon against his shirt, removing the bloody residue.

A small child screeched from the adjacent room, alerting the intruder of his existence. Slowly, the dark figure stepped over Grandine's body and stalked towards the infant. He extended his hand and gently pushed against the door. A small creaking noise occurred with the movement, and the child ceased his crying momentarily.

The man silently walked towards the small black cradle containing the child. The pink haired infant clutched tightly to a stuffed dragon toy, tiny tears gathered at the corners of his expectant eyes.

The masked man glared down hatefully at the innocent life beneath him. He scoffed and spat down at the floor. "His bloodline ends here…" The man raised the knife high above his head and held the position for a moment.

"Die…"

He brought the knife downwards towards the baby boy, any thoughts of mercy forgotten. The child simply watched with curious onyx eyes as the dark figure loomed over him, completely unaware of the impending danger.

Just as the dagger was about to pierce the child, a strong hand caught the arm of the intruder. "How dare you! How dare you attack my family, you bastard!" Igneel's facial features held intense hatred for the man standing before him. Tears streamed down his hardened face, landing silently in drops on the floor.

The masked man jumped backwards with catlike reflexes, ripping his arm away from Igneel in the process. He raised the knife in front of his body, his stance resembling a tiger preparing to pounce on unsuspecting prey. He held Igneel's eyes from across the room, judging his reactions and movements carefully.

Igneel wiped the tears from his eyes and took a shaky breath before raising his arms into a fighting stance. Igneel was no amateur when it came to fighting. His career had hardened his skills in hand-to-hand combat as well as wielding a knife and firing a gun. He was an agent in the Secret Service, mandated by stature and executive order to carry out two significant missions: protection and criminal investigations.

He had made countless enemies through his outstanding career. He had received death threats on his life and that of his family, but he thought he could manage to protect them. He could hardly believe what was happening at the moment. Everything had been perfectly normal that night; his wife was in the kitchen preparing dinner, his son sat in his cradle refusing to take a nap due to excess energy, and he sat outside on the back porch reading the newspaper.

Grandine called out to the porch alerting Igneel that she needed him to run to the corner store to purchase flour for the meal she was creating. Igneel readily agreed, wanting nothing more than to please his young wife.

He had been gone for not even ten minutes. His entire existence became dull and meaningless in mere minutes. The love of his life lie dead in the kitchen they had built together, his son sat watching as he would either kill a man or be killed himself.

The masked man made his move first, lunging powerfully towards Igneel, the dagger barely missing his right shoulder. Igneel grabbed the man's arm as the knife overshot its mark and used the opportunity to bring his fist up to the man's chest. The air was knocked out of his lungs momentarily, but he recovered quickly and brought his left knee to Igneel's stomach.

Both men broke away for a brief second, assessing which path of attack would be most effective. Igneel moved first this time, extending his left leg and kicking the man square in the face. Igneel smirked as he heard a satisfying crunch from beneath his boot; however, his satisfaction was short lived as the man grasped Igneel's foot and twisted, causing him to flip over off of his feet.

He landed hard and had barely any time to recover before the next assault began. The intruder straddled Igneel as he lay on the ground, bringing the knife above his head to apply the finishing blow. Fortunately, Igneel's reflexes were unrivaled, and he grabbed hold of the man's black jacket and pushed as hard as he could, switching their positions.

Igneel now lay atop the intruder, fighting to push the knife back towards its owner. Both men struggled, applying equal strength to the knife. Igneel grunted in frustration and thought about his son watching the conflict unfold from across the room. His eyes locked with the boy's tiny tear filled ones, and he knew he needed to win the fight. He needed to watch his son grow into a man. He wanted to be there as he grew up and started his own family. He would cherish him with everything he had. He would give him enough love for both him and Grandine.

A memory suddenly flashed through Igneel's mind. _He was out of breath, running as fast as he could through a stuffy hospital building desperately searching for one person. "Please let me get there in time…" Igneel huffed as he pushed open a door. _

_The door revealed the most remarkable and beautiful thing he would probably ever see in his life. In the room lay his lovely wife, her hair disheveled but still beautiful, tears sticking in the corner of her eyes. _

"_Igneel…" Her voice trailed off as she beamed at him. Excitement danced within her blue eyes. She slowly moved back a blanket that rested in her lap to reveal a small tuff of pink hair. _

_Igneel simply slouched against the doorframe and laughed. He pushed away from the door and strode towards his family. "What kind of baby already has hair this early?" Igneel grinned and sat on the hospital bed next to his exhausted wife. _

_Grandine simply laughed softly and smiled gently. Igneel lightly pressed his lips to her temple and whispered, "He's beautiful." She titled her head and brought her lips to his for a brief, loving kiss. _

"_He needs a name." Igneel scratched his chin and glanced sideways, deep in thought. Grandine watched her husband for a moment before a faraway look entered her eyes and a small smile touched her lips. _

"_Natsu…" _

_Igneel glanced at her after she had spoken. "Natsu? Why that name?" _

_Grandine laughed and lightly traced her fingers over the small infant's face. "Because we met in the summer, you proposed in the summer, we were married in the summer, and now our son entered our lives in the summer." _

_Igneel felt immense love for his wife as she spoke. "Natsu. It's perfect."_

Igneel flashed back to the present and felt a sudden burst of energy. This terrible, disgusting, bastard of a man had extinguished the light of his life, and now he would die. Igneel roared and pushed down on the knife with as much force as he could muster. The man made a surprised noise at the sudden strength against the weapon.

The knife lodged itself between the intruder's ribs and a sickening screech escaped the man's lips. Blood gushed forth from the wound, dampening his clothes and staining the floor. Igneel did not release his hold on the knife until the man beneath him slowly stopped twitching and his hand fell motionless to the floor, resting in the blood pooling there.

Igneel leaned back and took deep breathes, attempting to calm his frantic heartbeat. He threw his head back and roared loudly in anguish and victory. He stood to his feet shakily and reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

He typed the numbers into his phone and waited as it began ringing. "Hey, Igneel. What's up?" He had dialed his partner's number. He didn't know what else to do but get his best friend's assistance.

"Gildarts, I… Grandine, she's…" Igneel's voice broke as tears flowed freely down his face, mixing with the drying blood splattered on his cheeks.

"Igneel? What happened? Hold on, I'll be right there." Igneel continued crying into the phone as he made his way across the room to his small son.

"My boy…" Igneel reached down and stroked the side of his son's cheeks as Natsu watched his father curiously.

Suddenly, a loud bang resounded through the room. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Igneel felt himself falling, the ground welcoming him as he landed roughly.

"Igneel! What's happening? What's going on? IGNEEL!" Igneel heard his partner yelling into the phone, but he couldn't speak. Confusion spread across his features, not understanding why he was falling or why there was intense pain coursing through his chest.

Breathing became difficult, and he clutched his chest. When he removed his hands, blood trickled through his fingers, running down his arm. Igneel turned his head towards the man he had subdued minutes before. In his hands was a gun, still pointed in his direction.

The man smirked and said, "Now we both die." The gun fell to the floor, and the intruder coughed forcefully, blood escaping his lips. He took a strained breath before closing his eyes and exhaling slowly. He laid motionless, undoubtedly dead now.

Igneel felt the darkness creeping around him. His vision had black patches and his fingers could no longer clutch his cell phone. His breathing came out jagged and hungry, like he couldn't get enough oxygen. He felt himself slipping towards oblivion, and it was the most terrifying and lonesome feeling imaginable. No one would save him from this. He was dying. He didn't know what was beyond this life he had clung to for all twenty-eight years of his existence. Would he simply cease to be, or would be find eternal happiness like he'd been promised?

Igneel saw a peaceful blue light take over his vision. It released the tension in his muscles, destroyed the pain in his chest, and removed the feelings of loneliness he'd felt seconds earlier.

"Igneel, love. It's time." Grandine reached out for him, her skin glowing in the pale light. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, but he welcomed the relief. Tears fell down the sides of his eyes as he lay on the floor.

"Grandine…" Igneel reached up, closing the distance between their outstretched hands. He closed his eyes as a small whimper escaped his lips. He took one last breath, his eyes fluttered closed. His bloodied hand fell to the floor as the life left his body.

The sounds of an infant crying could be heard outside the house. The rest of the world seemed to be suspended—silence clung to the earth, adding to the feeling of desperation and loss.

X~X~X~X~X

Gildarts Clive sprinted through the deserted streets, drawing closer to his friend's home. Anxiety and dread coursed through him, not knowing what had become of his friend or his family. The sound of a gunshot still rang in his ears.

He had already alerted the local law enforcement of the situation, but he was determined to get to the house first. He turned a street corner, and the house was finally in sight.

Gildarts's feet pounded violently against the pavement as he pushed himself to run faster. He reached the front lawn and all but leapt across the porch steps into the house entryway. He listened for any sounds of a struggle, and not hearing any pushed further into the house.

"Oh god!" He had turned the corner leading to the kitchen and fell to the floor. Grandine was lying motionless, covered in blood slouched against a wall. Gildarts felt tears brimming in his eyes and his hand covered his mouth.

He stood and walked slowly towards his old friend. He placed his index and middle fingers against her neck, checking for a pulse. He wasn't expecting to feel anything. There was no way she could have survived with the amount of blood she'd lost already. A whimper escaped his lips as he looked down at her bloodied form.

"Oh, Grandine…" He stood and continued walking further into the house, looking for signs of his partner.

He pushed the door to Natsu's room open and nearly collapsed on the floor because of what he saw. Igneel wasn't moving, blood pooling around him. Another man whom he's never seen before lay across the room with a knife still sticking out of his chest. Little Natsu sat crying in his cradle, a little red dragon squished in his arms.

Gildarts strode over to Igneel and rested his head in his arms. Igneel and Gildarts had been best friends since they were introduced twenty years ago, and they'd been partners for eight of those years. They were inseparable ever since, and Gildarts was even Igneel's best man.

Gildarts let out a heartbreaking cry and held Igneel's head against his chest. He was shaking from the grief and tears trailed down his cheeks, landing on Igneel's face.

After a few moments, he composed himself and gently placed Igneel's head back to the floor. He stood and walked over to the dead intruder. He reached out and removed the mask from his face. Gildarts did not recognize the man, but something on his neck caught his attention. A black tattoo that resembled a jagged, spikey heart gleamed in the moonlight that shown through the window.

"Grimoire Heart…" Fury consumed his emotions and thoughts. Grimoire Heart was a secret organization that he and Igneel had recently started investigating due to suspicious and possibly threatening activities. The leader of the organization was actually the previous head of the Secret Service, Master Hades. He has handed over his leadership to Makarov Dryer years prior and had disappeared until recently.

Gildarts slammed his fist into the floor and yelled in agony and frustration. If only he'd arrived there sooner. He could have saved them.

A small whimper alerted Gildarts of the tiny onyx eyes glued to him. Natsu sat staring and sniveling as he watched Gildarts walk towards him. Gildarts placed his large hand atop the soft pink head of the child and smiled sadly.

Suddenly, Gildarts made up his mind. He would raise Natsu in his friend's stead. He would train him to become the most deadly force the world had ever seen. He would allow this boy to take revenge for his fallen family.

Natsu Dragneel would become an assassin.

**Alrighty! That was just the introduction! What do you guys think? Let me know how you like it! Bye-bye my lovelies! **


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